Japanese Culture
January 10, 2008
At the New Year in Japan, 'HATSUMODE' is the custom
to worship at temples and shrines. We pray for the family
well-being, prosperous business, and so on.
Most people go on New Year's Eve and the first of January.
If you were in Japan on those days you probably saw
thousands of people walking towards temples and shrines.
One of the most wide spread poplular religious
beliefs among the Japanese is devotion to Inari.
Shrines honoring this god are to be found all over the
country.
The main shrine is Fushimi Inari at Fushimi in Kyoto.
It is famous for the Torii (sacred gates) donated by
believers in such numbers that they form a veritable tunnel.
Inari shrines are dedicated to Inari Daimyojin (the Great
God Inari), and the god of grain, Uganomitama no Kami.
The derivation of the name Inari goes back to legends of
the god appearing carring a bundle of rice plants on his back.
(Rice plant in Japanese is 'INE'; 'RI' means burden.)
This shows that rice cultivation was a very important
undertaking to the Japanese in ancient times.
In the Middle Ages, with advances in commerce and
industry, merchants and artisans joined the farmers in
their devotion to Inari; the god came to be widely
worshipped as a god that brings good fortune.
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December 27, 2007
teachers and relatives at New Year's. After postcards
were issued early in the Meiji period, people began
sending a greeting on a card, and the Nengajo of today
became established.
Nengajo are handled differently from ordinary mail.
All the cards put into special boxes at the post office
between 18 and 28 are delivered together on New Year's Day.
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December 13, 2007
It's Bonenkai season now.
Bonenkai is a typical kind of party held at the
end of the year. A few people get together,
boisterously eating and drinking a lot, in order to
look back on the year's events, forget the unpleasant
things and look ahead to the new year with a fresh spirit.
There are departmental bonenkai and other for those
who entered the company together, that's for work bonenkai.
Then privately, they are held among close friends, by local
hobby groups, so you go to one every two or three days.
Students and housewives also have bonenkai with their friends.
So in December, bonenkai are being held all over Japan.
They are usually held at Japanese restaurants or
Western-style restaurants or bars.
For such places the bonenkai season is the busiest time
of the year. After the bonenkai, people often go to Karaoke
bars for 'Nijikai'. Nijikai means second party.
Enjoy your 'bonenkai' and don't drink too much!
And please remember, if you drink, don't drive!!
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November 07, 2007
November 15th, people visit shrines for Shichigosan.
Shichigosan is a traditional abservance of children's growth.
Boys of three and five years of age and girls of three and seven
are dressed up and taken to a shrine.
There they pray that the god will protect the children as
they grow.
From ancient times, odd numbers have been considered
lucky in Japan. That is why children are feted at ages three,
five, and seven.
You will see little girls in kimono and little boys dressed up,
holding paper bags with pictures of a crane and a tortoise.
There are long sticks of candy inside of the bag called
'Chitose-ame'. Chitose means a thousand years, ame means
candy. It bears the wish that the children will grow up
healthy and live a long life.
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October 24, 2007
Tori-no-ichi is a festival held at shrines around the
country on Days of the Rooster in November.
Tori-no-ichi for this year is the 11th of November
and the 23rd of November.
Originally a festival of Otori Shrines dedicated to the
god of good fortune and commercial prosperity,
it is now held at other shrines as well. The gradest
Tori-no-ichi is that of the Otori Shrine in Asakusa.
November has two or in some years three Days of the
Rooster called in order the First, Second and Third Rooster.
On these days stalls selling good luck charms fill the
shrine's precincts and the area in front of its gates, and
vendors enegetically hawk their wares.
You will find many bamboo rakes(Kumade),
a mask of a moon-faced woman (Otafuku),
gold coins (Koban), treasure chest (Senryo-bako)
and such, all charms that bring good luck.
This year we have only two Tori-no-ichi.
The saying goes that you have to watch out in
years with three Tori-no-ichi, because there're
lots of fires. Next year we 'll have three.
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October 17, 2007
When we drive by Aoyama Cemetery in Tokyo
for area tour with clients from overseas,
we are often asked about Japanese funeral.
So this is about typical Japanese funeral style:
Tsuya (a wake) is held the night before the deceased
is buried. Relatives and close friends spend the last night
with the corpse, praying for the soul of the departed.
The body is laid out with head to the north.
A picture of the deceased and heaping bowl of rice
with chopsticks stuck vertically into it are set on an altar.
A buddhist priest offers sutras, and the deceased is
given an honorary Buddhist name.
Black-and-white striped curtains and wreaths
donated by friends and relatives are put up for
the Kokubetsushiki (the final farewell ceremony).
Mourners proceed one by one to the altar, press their
palms together in prayer and burn pinches of incense.
Finally, the nails of the coffin lid are pounded shut with a
stone and it is put into the hearse.
At the crematorium, relatives and friends gather the
cinders of bone with chopsticks and put them in an
urn which is later buried in a tomb.
In parts of the country where it is still customary to bury
the dead uncremated, the body is taken to the cemetery
in a funeral procession.
Usually mourners wear black, and men, black neckties.
Traditionally they bring Okouden (incense money) to the
dead person's home. Returning home after the funeral,
they purify themselves at the entrance with a sprinkling
of salt.
Nowadays the entire funeral is managed by a professional
undertaker. While funerals are generally held at the
home of the deceased, when that is not large enough
they are held at temples or public buildings.
Or, Christians may request a church funeral.
Ancient Japanese ideas of the soul persist, and it is still
believed that the souls of the dead return to the world
each summer at Obon.
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October 12, 2007
In spring we have 'Hanami', and the fall equivalent is
'Momijigari'.
It doesn't involve any special ritual, we just enjoy
the red and yellow maple leaves, have something good
to eat and drink, and wish that autumn didn't have to end.
It's said that even hundreds of years ago, Japanese played
music and danced beneath the crimson trees.
It is not as boisterous as Hanami. It's rather elegant occasion
for quiet enjoyment of the beautiful colors.
Many of the trees in Japan turn color in the fall,
and each district has famous spots for viewing the foliage.
At this season, places such as Nikko (Tochigi Prefecture),
Hakone (Kanagawa Prefecture), and Arashiyama (Kyoto)
are thronged with tourists.
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September 11, 2007
on the 15th of the eighth month (around September 20th
on the modern calendar), and on the 13th of the ninth month
(Jusanya - around October 15th).
Moon-viewing parties are held at temples and other places
all around the country.
So what is Tsukimi?
Moon View Day, 'Jugoya', the 15th of the eighth month by
the old calendar, the traditional day to admire the full moon
and make offerings to it.
In autumn, the air is clear and the moon looks especially
beautiful, so one point of it is to enjoy gazing at that
bright moon. It's also a kind of harvest festival.
That's why we offer the fruits of the harvest to the moon.
First of all, we offer Tsukimi-dango
(moon-viewing dumplings).
Then newly harvested fruits and crops from the fields.
Japanese pampas grass is added for decoration.
Coming just before the rice harvest, Tsukimi is also a
prayer for a bountiful crop. It is all right to steal the
offerings from another house, and people are glad if
theirs are taken by a child. It's a sign that the gods have
accepted them.
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September 04, 2007
We get so many questions from expats everyday.
Please see below the answers for the questions we are often asked:
1. License for Motorbikes & Vehicles
Motorbikes over 50cc~under 400cc: age of 16 and over
Motorbikes over 400cc: age of 18 and over
Ordinary Vehicles: age of 18 and over
Heavy Vehicles: age of 20 and over with at least 2-year
driving experience of ordinary vehicle.
About International license, please check our previous blog
here.
2. Drinking and Smoking
Must be over 20-year of age to drink alcohol and
smoking cigarettes.
3. Voting Age
Age of 20 and over
4. Marriage Age
Male: 18 Female: 16
*Need parents’ permission if they are under the age of 20.
5. Mandatory Education
9 years in total. 6 years in Elementary (age 7-12), and
3 years in Junior High School (age 13-15).
School Grades’ cut off date is the 1st of April,
and a new school year starts in April.
*Fees for buses and trains, up to 12-year old
(Elementary School) it will be a half price of adults’ fees.
When they enter Junior High School they must pay the
full fee.
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August 20, 2007
A Happi is a type of Japanese style jacket.
In the Edo period they were worn by servants of
military families and merchants, and by workmen.
They are wide sleeved, reach the hips and are fastened
with a sash (obi) tied around the waist. There is often a
family crest (kamon) or trademark on the back, so they
also served as a kind of advertising.
Later, the Happi coat gradually fell into disuse and today
are ordinarily worn only by carpenters, gardeners,
scaffolding men, and a few other types of workmen.
However, they are commonly worn at festivals, and
neighborhood groups or merchants' associations have
matching Happi made for their members, who can be seen
wearing them as they carry portable shrines (mikoshi) or
pull the floats (dashi).
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